1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a game and more particularly to a game in which a hoop and net are attached to and supported by the body of a receiver and positioned by the receiver to receive a ball projected by teammates of the receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a variety of team sports, there are two goalies or receivers from opposing teams, each of which goalies is positioned at the opposite ends of the playing area from the other goalie. In these team sports, team members of each team attempt to move a projectile into a goal area near or behind the opposite team's goalie, who attempts to keep the projectile from moving into the goal area. Each goal area in these games comprises a net or circumscribed area behind and/or around the goalie, and the goalie must work to guard the entire goal area. In none of these games is the particular goalie a member of the same team that is attempting to place the projectile into that goalie's goal.
Examples of such team games include soccer, water polo and ice hockey. In soccer, the players of each eleven-membered team work to propel a round soccer ball into the opponent's goal area by kicking or hitting the ball with any part of their body except their hands or arms. The soccer goalie may use his hands to keep the ball out of the goal area. Similarly, in water polo, teams of swimmers work to place a ball into the goal area. In ice hockey, team members use angled hockey sticks to drive a puck, a disk of vulcanized rubber, into the opponent's goal.
Other games have been designed in which hoops or other projectile-receiving structures are attached to or held by players of the game. The receiving structures are mounted on waists, hips, ankles, arms or heads in the various games. Most of these games are played by one or two persons each of whom has such a receiving structure attached to the appropriate body part. The exercise and game apparatus of Flanders (U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,639) comprises a large ball rotatably mounted on shafts within a hoop. The hoop is secured by bars to the belts of each of the two players standing on opposite sides of the hoop. Baskets on the bars serve as goals for the ball thrown by the opposite player while both players use hip movements to keep the large ball rotating within the hoop.
Other hoop or basket games include those with tethered balls. The toy of Walker, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,910) has a waste-mounted target with a plurality of holes that is worn by one player. The second player wears a waist-tethered ball that must be manipulated by movement of the second player's waist to go through one of the holes on the target worn by the other player. There is also a single-person hip-mounted game that has a horizontally oriented basket on rigid shafts extending out from the hip. A ball is tethered to the shaft so that appropriate bodily motion causes the ball to go into the basket (U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,622). The design patent of Somsky (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 239,648) has funnel-shaped receptacles mounted on each side of the waist, and a tethered ball at each receptacle.
A variety of devices enables catch to be played, for example, by using a netted or basket structure to catch the projectile. An ankle-mounted ball-catching net allows arm-impaired persons to play catch (U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,676). Another catch game utilizes Velcro.TM. covered projectiles and knee-mounted Velcro.TM.-adherent receivers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,677). Another game of catch employs Velcro.TM. strips on a plastic ball and utilizes fabric covered dish-shaped mitts to catch the ball (U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,076).
Other devices may be mounted on the body or held by the player for protection in ball games or to enable the player to make the ball rebound in a particular manner. See for example, the head-mounted rebounding device of Ryan (U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,201), and the hand-held shield of Lehman, Jr., et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,492). Many other net and racquet games and devices also exist that do not have the projectile receiving structure attached to a player.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a body-supported hoop that may be used in a team game.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a body-supported hoop that is attached to the legs of a goalie.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a ball game in which each of two teams tries to impel the ball through a hoop and net attached to that team's goalie.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a ball game wherein the ball-receiving area is mounted on the goalie and in which the goalie may move the ball-receiving area by movement of the goalie's body.
Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.